Every parent should know the importance of their own and their child’s sleep.
When well-timed and of sufficient duration, it sets the scene for more relaxed and successful family relationships.
A wealth of scientific studies backs this up, citing how much, how well, and when you sleep as crucial to mental and physical health (O’Callaghan, 2016).
Poor sleep quality in children activates a hormonal response, increasing “appetite and food consumption leading to obesity” and reducing mental and physical wellbeing (Dube Khan, Loehr, Chu, & Veugelers, 2017, p. 2).
Sound strategies for healthy sleep, known as sleep hygiene, can reduce bedtime resistance and anxiety and improve overall quantity and quality. We’ll dive into these strategies and provide tips and suggested apps to help get your children off to sleep quickly and easily.
These science-based exercises explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology, including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the well-being of your clients, students, or employees.
What Is Sleep Hygiene?
“Sleep problems are prevalent in the global population” and can be acute or chronic (Irish, Kline, Gunn, Buysse, & Hall, 2015, p. 1). Roughly 56% of Americans experience issues regarding their sleep every year, with 31.6% of people, across ten countries clinically classified as having insomnia (Irish et al., 2015).
Adequate sleep is not simply something that makes us feel less tired the next day. It impacts our motivation, cognitive functioning, and the likelihood of severe medical conditions, including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (Irish et al., 2015).
A lack of proper sleep, remarkably rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, has been found to impact creativity, emotional response, decision making, and incidence of depression across various ages (Hooper, 2018).
Despite the importance and apparent benefits of sleep, therapeutic interventions are often limited to those who either qualify as having a clinical problem or seek treatment themselves (Irish et al., 2015).
Fortunately, sleep self-help has proven successful.
Good sleep hygiene is considered the best and most reliable approach to getting high-quality sleep and is essential for the REM phase, believed to be vital for consolidating memories about tasks learned that day (O’Callaghan, 2016).
“Sleep hygiene is defined as a set of behavioral and environmental recommendations intended to promote healthy sleep.”
Irish et al., 2015, p. 1
What you don’t do can be as important as what you do. For example, the following factors are all essential ingredients of a good night’s sleep (Irish et al., 2015; O’Callaghan, 2016):
- Avoid caffeine later in the day
- Exercise regularly
- Eliminate noise from the sleeping environment
- Maintain a regular sleep schedule
- Reduce blue light (emitted from phones and tablets) before bed
- Ensure a comfortable room temperature
- Sleep in familiar places
While much of the research on sleep hygiene is limited to clinical settings, it has considerable potential to improve sleep, with clear benefits to the general population’s wellbeing and, in particular, children.
Inadequate sleep in the young significantly affects their academic performance, capacity to pay attention, and ability to regulate their behavior (Golem et al., 2019).
Promoting Healthy Sleep in Children: 15 Tips
A wealth of advice is available to encourage positive sleeping habits in children.
Much of it focuses on behaviors and situational factors that parents can promote, and children can adopt with ease.
Tips to help children maintain good sleep hygiene include the following (Seattle Children’s Hospital, 2020; Wiseman, 2020; Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, 2020; Mindell, Li, Sadeh, Kwon, & Goh, 2015):
- Consistency
Maintain consistency with bedtimes and wake times throughout the week – even on weekends. A regular sleep schedule should work with the child’s natural biological clock to promote predictable dozing. - Bedtime regularity
Putting in place a consistent and predictable bedtime routine (such as brushing teeth, warm bath, bedtime story, and lights out) provides a sense of familiarity and comfort that is the opposite of being uncertain about getting to sleep. - Associate the bed with sleep
Avoid spending too much non-sleep time in bed, as this can stop children from associating it with sleep. - Relaxation techniques
Visualizing relaxing scenes, such as the beach or vacations, and slow abdominal breathing can help children become calm and ready for sleep. - Maintain the right sort of environment
A child’s room should be at a comfortable temperature, in relaxed surroundings, and quiet. - Clock visibility
Constantly watching the clock is detrimental to sleep. To avoid the anxiety it produces, removes the clock, cover it, or turn it away. - Avoid highly stimulating activities before bed.
Avoid video games and exercise immediately before sleep. Ideally, remove electronics and digital devices from the bedroom. - Security objects
Dolls, soft toys, and blankets can help children transition to a feeling of security and safety in bed when you leave them to fall asleep. - Exercise during the day
Physical activity during the day, while providing many other positives to physical and mental wellbeing, can promote sleep at night. - Bedtime delay
When children appear not tired, it may be necessary to hold off taking them to bed for 30 minutes to fall asleep more quickly. Over the following days, parents can bring the bedtime forward. - Maintain a sleep diary
Track your child’s sleep times and activities before bed to identify what works well and hinders a good night’s sleep. - Tossing and turning
When a child is unsettled in bed, it can be better to take them out for 20 minutes to perform a low-stimulation activity such as reading them a book before putting them back in. - Schedule worry time
If children are bedtime worriers, it can be helpful and fun to have a worrying time earlier in the day to talk about and share fears and concerns, perhaps engaging toys in the conversation. - Avoid sleeping elsewhere
Falling asleep in other locations can become a habit. Encourage the child to go to bed exhausted. - Brief and boring checks
When checking on your child, try to make it low-key. Reassure them you are close by without too much stimulation.
10 Techniques and Activities for Teenagers
“Sleep is a core behavior in adolescents, consuming up to a third or more of the day” (Tarokh, Saletin, & Carskadon, 2016, p. 182). Quality sleep is crucial in this age group and beyond, supporting effective cognitive functioning and reducing psychiatric and developmental disorders.
During teenage development, with new and emerging social roles, increased autonomy, changes to circadian rhythms, and a greater tolerance for sleep pressure (literally resisting the urge to sleep), it is even more essential to put in place better sleep hygiene (Tarokh et al., 2016).
While many, if not all, the earlier approaches remain helpful for teenagers, there are a few more relevant to this age group, including the following (Wiseman, 2020; Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, 2020):
- Screen curfew
The blue light emitted from TVs, tablets, and other mobile devices suppresses the hormone melatonin and stimulate the brain, making it harder to get ready for sleep. Keep such devices out of the bedroom and encourage downtime at least an hour before bedtime. - Avoid caffeine
Avoid soda, tea, coffee, and chocolate within the six hours before bedtime, as it makes getting to sleep difficult and can cause sleep disturbances. Even small amounts of caffeine can significantly impact sleep quantity and quality. - Avoid sleeping with a pet.
While it can seem cozy to fall asleep with your pet, their movement can cause minor interruptions to sleep. Instead, leave them outside the bedroom and include them in the bedtime routine. - Bedroom environment
The sleeping environment is crucial at any age. Yet, during the teenage years, when interests and hobbies form, it is vital to ensure that the bedroom remains comfortable and appropriate for sleep. Fresh air, soothing smells, and dimmed lights can be helpful, along with a decluttered bedroom.
Activities that can be valuable in the teenage years should promote a reduction in stress while encouraging healthy eating and physical activity. Changes to teens’ bodies and brains, including melatonin production, can shift their natural circadian rhythm, making it more difficult to fall asleep at a reasonable time and more challenging to wake up (Teen Sleep Hub, 2021).
Positive habits may include the following (Wiseman, 2020; Mindell et al., 2015):
- Writing in a journal
Capturing thoughts in a journal or diary can be a healthy way to maintain and reflect on the positives in a teenager’s life and increase a sense of security. - Mindfulness exercises
Meditation and mindfulness techniques (including guided imagery, body awareness, and breathing techniques) reduce stress hormones and calm the nervous system before bedtime. They can be employed at any time of day but may be particularly helpful in the lead-up to sleep. - Healthy eating
Eating well has many physical and mental health benefits and is of particular value for a good night’s sleep. Avoid going to bed hungry by eating a low-sugar snack earlier in the evening, and try not to sleep too full. - Create a bedtime routine
While social habits are likely to change and restrictions lifted, a bedtime routine remains associated with “less sleep disruption and longer total sleep time” (Mindell et al., 2015, p. 717). - Avoid sleeping in
Staying in bed to compensate for lost sleep will disrupt the internal body clock; instead, try to maintain or return to a regular bedtime and wake-up time. - Seek professional help
Seeking professional help for ongoing sleep problems or insomnia may be necessary. Keep a diary of sleeping habits to identify sleep patterns and issues that require assistance. Consider approaching a sleep coach trained to reestablish good sleep for struggling people.
5 Handouts, Checklists, and Worksheets
The American Academy of Pediatrics has created a family media plan to help encourage digital switch-off sufficiently early to reduce sleep disruption.
Try it out and create a personalized approach for parents and children working together to create a set of goals and rules appropriate to the family’s values.
UK-based Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children provides some helpful guides for sleep hygiene, including the following:
- This Sleep Hygiene in Children and Young People information sheet provides a valuable guide for setting a routine around a child’s bedtime. It details the recommended amount of sleep according to age.
- This shortened Getting a Good Night’s Sleep guide presents an easy-to-read checklist that can be printed and put somewhere visible to remind children and adults what to do and avoid before bedtime.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers guidance and a set of free publications that promote a good night’s sleep at any age, including the following:
- Getting a Good Night’s Sleep is a printable infographic with tips encouraging a healthy sleep pattern.
The National Sleep Foundation has a downloadable diary to record sleeping habits and sleep patterns. Try this simple-to-use tool to figure out your sleeping problems and when to seek professional help.
Top 4 Apps to Sleep Better at Night
While it is best to avoid technology before bed, we have included several of our favorite apps that help promote better sleep.
Sleep by Headspace
This valuable app by Headspace has a set of relaxing stories, music, and sounds to promote relaxation and a good night’s sleep. It also has a dark-mode option that’s more suited to tired eyes.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
- Find the app in the Apple App Store.
Breathe2Relax
This app helps you learn to manage your stress through guided breathing, reduce your symptoms of anxiety and fear, and encourage a state of mind that promotes sleep.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
- Find the app in the Apple App Store.
Calm
Aimed to improve your health and happiness by reducing stress and improving sleep quality, Calm creates a personalized experience to help you find the sleep you need.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
- Find the app in the Apple App Store.
Timeshifter
More useful for parents than children, this award-winning app from Timeshifter helps avoid and aids recovery from jet lag by providing tips and guidance to minimize disruption to circadian rhythms.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
- Find the app in the Apple App Store.
A Take-Home Message
With good reason, children’s sleep is one of the most common concerns of parents.
Inadequate sleep is associated with child obesity and emotional, cognitive, and behavioral issues (Mindell et al., 2015). Also, ongoing, high-quality sleep is vital to academic performance and building healthy, long-term relationships while avoiding antisocial behavior (Tarokh et al., 2016).
Promoting sleep hygiene and educating parents and children in such practices will likely benefit the child’s mental and physical wellbeing and build confidence in their ability to sleep while reducing parents’ cause for concern.
Exercising, healthy eating and positive bedroom environment changes can intervene and improve disrupted sleeping patterns.
Daily routines, especially around bedtime, typically result in lower bedtime anxiety, less sleep disruption, and increased sleep times (Mindell et al., 2015).
Reducing the use of TVs, computers, tablets, and phones at least an hour before bedtime have equally positive outcomes and should be a nighttime priority (Dube et al., 2017).
Other beneficial activities, such as relaxation and breathing techniques, are easily implemented and reduce stress and worry while encouraging a sense of calm and peace.
Why not try some tips, approaches, and worksheets for yourself or your client to implement a comprehensive sleep hygiene strategy to tackle temporary and long-term sleep concerns?
